June 02, 2015 - News Leader

iSTAN VISITS PRINCETON HOSPITALOn May 26, iStan made a visit to the Emergency Room at Princeton General Hospital. Designed to pro- vide an opportunity for health care providers to practice potentially lifesaving skills, iStan is the trade name of the ‘most advanced wireless patient simulator on the market.’ As explained by Dr. Matt Petrie with the Interior Health Mobile Simulation Program, iStan “talks, blinks, breathes” and is capable of simulating a variety of scenarios that duplicate real life situations. Petrie was joined by Dr. Karla Tajik and Colleen Brayman who formed the visiting Simulation Team. Princeton health care professionals who participated in the program included doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and paramedics. In the introductory comments, participants were encouraged to view iStan as a real patient and perform procedures such as taking a pulse, listening for heartbeat, checking blood pressure, and other clinical procedures that they would administer to a real person. It was also demonstrated that during a simulation iStan would be wirelessly monitored and his clinical signs would change automatically as he respond- ed to treatment. In the first simulation, paramedics with BC Ambulance Services contacted the hospital to let them know that in five minutes they would be arriving at the ER with a 40 year old male involved in a motorcycle acci- dent, that he was conscious but not coherent. One doctor, two RNs and one LPN responded to the delivery. The team put iStan through a series of tests and administered procedures in an effort to stabilize the patient for eventual transport to Penticton General Hospital. An additional doctor and nurse were called in to assist and the High Acuity Response Team in Penticton was contacted by telephone. Lab technicians were brought in to take x-rays and take blood tests. The simulation concluded with a debriefing session where participants shared their thoughts. There was general agreement that patient simulation provides excellent exposure to clinical experiences that are complex or difficult to obtain. The experience was considered to be very valuable and provided an opportunity to promote patient safety through the process of self-reflection and assessment. This training session was sponsored by the practitioners at Cascade Medical.FRIENDS OF OSPREY LAKE AND AREA H RECYCLEby Terry Tellier Coordinator Roadside Cleanup Friends of Osprey LakeA solid effort was shown by 31 volunteers from the Chain, Link and Osprey Lake area for the 8th annual Roadside Cleanup on Saturday May 23rd. The weather turned out perfect for the cleanup and for the potluck supper that evening. Thank you to all who attended and helped us make this event happen. You are the backbone of our community and a role model for others. People hiked, biked, rode ATVs and drove in vehicles to pick up 430 kilograms/950 pounds of trash thoughtless others had tossed. We covered over 40 km of roads and Trans-Canada trails from Thirsk Dam to Jellicoe Road. Both Osprey and Link Lake Forestry Recreation sites were included in our litter control efforts. Two illegal dump sites were located and we removed some of the material found. We will be placing Illegal Dump Site signs at those locations and hope this will deter that behaviour in the future. Collected materials for our cleanup included: metal, broken glass, material from a car crash, two 45 gallon bags of plastic, oil, paint cans, batteries a mattress and propane tanks some of which had been riddled with bullets. Overall we also collected a 40 gallon bag of recyclable beverage cans and bottles. The money obtained from the beverage containers will be donated to a charity by a local resident. The Friends of Osprey Lake would like to recognize those who supported the cleanup. Thanks to Lynne Adams and Rob Miller for transporting the trash. The Osprey Lake Ratepayers Association for providing website advertising. Argo Maintenance in Princeton for providing us with large heavy duty trash bags. RDOS Area H Director, Bob Coyne for his support and encouragement. To the landfill operators who were courteous and prompt. Finally we would like to send an immense word of thanks to the Town Council of Princeton who supported us by waiving the landfill fees once again. Without the volunteers and support from the outlying community we could not have made this cleanup happen. It takes a team effort to make our area safe and clean for all to use including the wildlife.

June 09, 2015 - News Leader

VANDALISM LEADS TO REWARDDuring the evening of June 4th someone tore apart the wall of cement blocks protecting private property along the Tulameen River dike. One block currently sits in the river. Exactly a week before the same thing happened to the cement block wall protecting the other side of the property. The dike has been a controversial issue since the blocks were first installed with angry residents upset at losing their walking path. The property manager of the site says the ‘walking path’ is actually private property. Regardless of what side of this issue you sit on, the Town of Princeton is not any further on solving the situation either. According to their 2014 list of priorities, they were going to spend up to $65,000.00 to determine if they could get easements to provide public walking access. An updated priority list does not mention the project any further. As for the vandalism, the property owner(0821149BC Ltd.) has offered a reward for information that leads to a conviction.VALLEY OUTDOOR POOLS OPEN FOR SEASONby Marty Menzies, KeremeosThe Keremeos pool officially opened June 1 for the annual Cawston Elementary school swim- ming lessons. “The Princeton school program has already been in full swing for a couple of weeks,” said Nadine McEwen, Princeton's Recreation & Cultural Coordinator. This is one of the best programs schools can offer their students and is the only time some of the kids will ever receive professional water safety instruction. Keremeos Facility Manager Karl Donoghue said, “As we live among lakes and rivers, it’s imperative that everyone can swim. That’s why programs like this are so impor- tant.” Unfortunately, every year there is a water related tragedy in the SimilkameenValleyandevery child should learn to swim to minimize their risk. Both the Keremeos Pool (250-499-2400) and the PrincetonCentennialPool(250- 295-6535) have swim instruction plus a number of other programs for kids and adults.

June 16, 2015 - News Leader

JUDGE DROPS COALMONT COURT CASEThere were a number of charges before the Provincial Court in relation to an incident in Coalmont in June 2014. Charges had been laid against Adonis Barran and Reg Duke in ‘private informations,’ that is, not laid by police. Crown Counsel stated in Provincial Court in Princeton on June 11 that police had found insufficient evidence to bring these matters to trial. All charges were stayed. Adonis Barran was scheduled to stand trial on a charge of aggravated assault arising from the same incident in Coalmont. The complainant, Mariana Gatzke, did not appear in court, so the charge was stayed. A number of witnesses had been called to court for the trial, and they were dismissed.BOARD HEARS FROM STUDENTSA total of three presentations were made at the beginning of the June 10th regular meeting of the Board of Education for School District 58 (Nicola-Similkameen)atthe Princeton Board office. The first one was senior band students who were on a field trip to Seattle. Each recountered their experiences and highlighted some of the special activities including attendance at Phantom of the Opera, visiting the Space Needle, Science Center, Pike Market (and Gum Wall), the Big Wheel and a Seattle Mariners baseball game. The common thread through all comments was that the students learned a lot about each other and also bonded somewhat. The band students were wearing t-shirts with the slogan, “Education is important, playing in band is importanter.” The second presentation was on the Paint Run. Crystal Larsen and Kyla Coyne explained that out of the 110 participants, the event attracted current and past students as well as many community members. The origins of ‘paint runs’ come from 5-kilometre fun runs used to raise funds for cancer. The local event was in support of Princeton Health Sustainability Society and raised nearly $3-thousand. Expect this to be an annual event. The final presentation was on the Spring Break field trip to Italy and Greece. A total of nine students and three adults went on this trip, which was the third one for teacher Kirk McConnell. He had indicated that the ‘cultural experience’ reveals itself in noticeable changes to the students over the ten-day trip. Highlights of that trip included stops in Rome, Capri, Pompeii, Turkey, Santorini and Sorrento. Greek and Italian food as well as the massive size of the historic places visited had the most effect on students.

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